Coolest Mall Scavenger Hunt Ideas

The mall scavenger hunt can be really fun! It takes place in a nearby mall.

When planning a mall scavenger hunt, you'll first want to send out invitations to your party. We've created credit-card shaped invitations (for great shopping ;-) specifically for this theme. After filling in all of the party information, it would be nice to laminate each credit-card invitation to look and feel more like a real credit-card.

The following credit-card invitations have a "DIVA" logo ;-) instead of a "VISA" logo as well as a more generic credit card called "COOL":

For the scavenger hunt lists, write things that each team needs to actually collect, and other things that can't be collected and can be photographed with a digital camera and/or taped on video. Let everyone know that they need to collect the items and not buy them. If you DO want them to buy some of the things, you can give them a price limit of how much they can spend.

Here are example of things each team needs to collect during the mall scavenger hunt:

A take-out menu from the food court

A bag full of as much trash you can pick up (can't take from trash cans!)

A fortune cookie (extra points if the word "love" appears in the the fortune cookie note)

A shopping bag

A piece of gift wrapping paper

A "buy one, get one free" coupon

A price tag

A perfume sample

Three different business cards

A store's catalog

A gift box

A map of the mall

An old receipt

Something broken (a store was going to throw away)

A napkin with a restaurant logo on it (from the food court)

A straw (from a restaurant)

A ketchup packet

A piece of tissue paper

A stranger's autograph (extra points if his/her name is "Jordan")

Atleast 50 cents worth of money found on the floor

A french fry (can't buy it...)

A loose sequin or bead

A clearance sticker

An old receipt of someone totaling over 10 dollars

An empty DVD, video, or game case

A clothing hanger

A sample of men's cologne

An employment application

3 business cards (extra points if the first names on the business cards are "Bob", "Kelly", and "Taylor"
)

If you want to make things a bit harder, add things that have a specific color, touch, smell, sound, or any other characteristic. Here are examples for questions the teams need to figure out and answer:

How many restaurants are in the food court?

When was the mall first built?

How many entrances to the mall?

How many stores give free samples?

How many buttons does the elevator have from the inside?

How many female restrooms are in the mall?

How many stores are in the mall?

How many high chairs does the food court have?

How many vending machines in the mall?

How many stores have the letter "W" in their name?

Which store at the mall has the shortest name?

How many shoe stores in the mall?

How many trash cans on the 1st floor?

To spice things up, add things to the mall scavenger hunt list each team will need to photograph and/or video-tape. Here are a few mall scavenger hunt ideas of photographs each team needs to come back with:

A team member looking and pointing at a mall information map

Entire team sitting with an unknown family at the food court (1 extra point for each person in the picture who is smiling)

A team member hugging a stranger

Holding hands with a cute guy or gal

Your whole team wearing a hat

The entire team sharing one soda (each teammate has their own straw)

Teammates playing a video game at a store

Everyone taking a photo with a salesman named "John"

A team-member delivering a meal to a stranger at the food court

A teammate wearing one high-heel red shoe

Entire team behind a display window of a retail store acting out as a store window display

A teammate buying a gumball from a gumball machine

A teammate covered in stuffed animals at a toy store

Your whole team fitting in a bathroom stall

The whole team with purple eye shadow on

A teammate helping someone with their packages and/or bags

Entire team reading books at a book or magazine store

One team member getting a sample makeover

An item that costs 99 cents

The whole team on an escalator and/or in an elevator

A mother pushing a baby stroller

Getting four strangers to spell out "YMCA" with their bodies

A teammate gift-wrapping someone's present they just bought

Entire team jumping (everyone must be in mid-air for the picture to count)

The following mall scavenger hunt examples are video-taping scenarios each team needs to video-tape:

Saluting people as they come out of the Old Navy store

The whole team on a kiddie ride (extra points if it's really moving!)

Do a dramatic earthquake scene in a crowded area of the mall (extra points if on the video the scene really looks like an earthquake)

A man with a beard shaking hands with someone on your team

Entire team needs to stage a Kung-Fu battle in front of one of the stores

The whole team doing the "Wave"

A team-member break dancing in the middle of the mall

A little kid singing "Mary Had a Little Lamb"

Go to a toy store and someone on your team yells "OH MY GOSH IT'S A BARBIE!!" really loud

The whole team doing the Macarena dance together in a crowded area of the mall

The whole team washing hands in a bathroom using the same sink

One or more members of a team standing under a public clock at the mall at an exact time (such as 1:24 p.m.)

A teammate asking a stranger if they can marry them (extra points if the stranger says "Yes")

A team member going to a department store and trying on a shirt or dress that is several sizes too small, then asking the clerk if it fits

Someone on the team chugging an entire can of soda and then belching

Getting a guy to try on a dress

Any of the teammates doing a performance skit (could be anything - juggling, dancing, singing, etc.) in the middle of a very crowded area at the mall (extra points if someone gives money at the end of the skit)

A team member washing dishes at a restaurant in the food court

Convince a stranger to let you taste their food

A team member reciting a love poem to a stranger

Someone on your team getting a drink from a water fountain while someone else is riding piggyback on their back

Have a stranger tell a funny joke

Everyone playing "Duck, Duck, Goose" somewhere in the mall

Buy a pack of cookies with pennies only

The whole team singing a song together in front of a music store

In public, a teammate puts a tiara or crown on their head and says "Hello, I'm the Queen of England" in an English accent

An unknown couple telling the story of how they met

Your whole team humming the Mission Impossible song while everyone acts like a spy going front to back in a store

Here are two kinds of blank mall scavenger hunt printables to make your own list, and two already worded ones:

These lists can be changed and altered for more of a challenge by adding scavenger hunt clues and riddles. Check out these two whole pages full of scavenger hunt clues and scavenger hunt riddles (geared for older kids but easily used to fit teens and adults).

When planning a mall scavenger hunt - create your own list, one that might be closer to the way your mall looks like and the stores that are in it. There are so many different kinds of malls, create your mall scavenger hunt list to suite your particular mall and the particular group of people who are participating.

You can require that each scene should be taken in a certain order. For more mall scavenger hunt ideas - write a quote, saying and/or conceptual sentence and then the team-members need to video-tape their association of the sentence, saying, or quote from a song, movie, or book.

Make sure everyone knows that each video-taped scenario needs to be CLEARLY filmed, if it is only partially filmed or not really understood - they might not get the points for that specific assignment. Don't forget to read and make sure everyone knows the Scavenger Hunt Rules before going on the mall scavenger hunt.

Mall Scavenger Hunt List Ideas by Olivia from Bridge City, TX

Things To Get From A Store:

Perfume Sample

Cologne Sample

Price Tag Between $80-$85

A Clearance Sticker (Extra Points If It’S $2.50)

Someone’S Old Receipt Over $10

Clothing Hanger

Autograph From A Stranger

A Shopping Bag (From Hollister Or Abercrombie)

An Employment Application

3 business Cards (Extra Points If Their Name Is “Bob” “Kelly” Or “Taylor”)

Trivia Questions:

How Many Restaurants Are In The Food Court?

How Many Entrances Are In The Mall?

What’S The Longest Store Name? (Bonus)

How Many Stores Have The Letter “W” In Their Name?

When Was The Mall 1St Built?

What Is The Shortest Name Of A Store In The Mall

How Many Stores Are In The Mall

How Many Trash Cans Are In The Food Court

How Many Stores Give Free Samples

What Is The Largest Store In The Mall

Pictures With....

Get 4 People To Do The “Ymca” With Their Bodies

The Whole Team On An Escalator

Whole Team On A Kiddie Ride

A Picture Holding Hands With A Different Hot Guy

Kissing A Mannequin On The Cheek

Everyone With A Salesman Named “John” Or “Jimmy”

3 People Acting As A Maniquin In A Store Window

1 Person Covered In Stuffed Animals In A Toy Store

Entire Team Jumping (Everyone Must Be In The Air For It To Count)

Team Member Hugging A Stranger (Old Man Or Woman)

Video With...

Everyone On Your Team Playing Duck Duck Goose

A Team Member Trying On A Clothing Item Several Sizes To Small Then Asking If It Fits

Do A Dramatic Earthquake Scene In The Middle Of The Mall

Ask A Guy To Marry Them (Extra Points If They Say “Yes”)

1 Teammate Doing A Performance In A Crowded Area Of The Mall (Extra Points If Someone Give You Money At The End) (Bonus)

Saluting People Coming Out Of Old Navy

Getting A Stranger To Try On A Dress

Team Member Break Dancing In The Mall

Have A Stranger Tell A Funny Joke

Someone Arguing With A Store Manager

RULES (must follow):

All team members need to stay with their team at all times. You may not split up to "divide" scavenger hunttasks!

Cheaters never win. If anyone on your team cheats or breaks the rules, the whole team gets disqualified. Remember - it's just a game! Be kind and have fun :-)

All challenges must be completed and pictures/videotaping scenes MUST be taken only during the duration of this specific time frame (challenges completed or photos/videotaping taken outside this limit will be disqualified).

Make sure each team has a phone so you will know when to meet back.

NO harassing citizens of your town, physically or verbally for items or photographs. It is their right to choose not to help you and you should respect that (even if you think they are lame for not helping you).

Have fun and be fair!!

After-Hunt Party

Plan a scavenger hunt viewing party! After each team has finished the mall scavenger hunt, you can all meet up at a home or a place each team can connect their video camera up to a TV (that way everyone can watch the funny scenarios together!). You can order a few pizzas and refreshments for everyone to enjoy.

When the hunt is over, a great keepsake is to make a scrapbook full of pictures that were taken on the mall scavenger hunt or a small video showing a few fun scenes that were filmed during the mall scavenger hunt.

You can also send out a picture to each guest with thank-you cards. Here are some great mall scavenger hunt thank-you cards to print and send out: